OTE - Oregon Travel Experience

On Friday, April 17, 2015, the community of Lafayette and Oregon Travel Experience dedicated a new historical interpretive marker at Joel Perkins Park. The marker honors the town’s founder, Joel Perkins, and acknowledges his contributions to platting the city’s map and donating the town square at the site of the present day park. (Scroll down past this article to see the image gallery from the dedication.)
Lafayette City Council President Marie …

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At the 2015 Heritage Tree dedication, speakers included OTE Executive Director Nancy DeSouza, Chair of the Oregon Heritage Tree Committee Roger Brandt, Oregon Garden Club’s Marcia Whitelock, and Paul Ries of OSU’s Urban Forestry. Brian French from Ascending the Giants was the Maynard Drawson Memorial Award’s first recipient.

2015 Statewide Heritage Tree Dedication image gallery

Check in to the gallery by clicking on the first image below. Advance through the gallery by …

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Of trees, fire and shade: Oregon’s Class of 2015 Heritage Trees to be honored

Oregon Travel Experience and its volunteer Oregon Heritage Tree Committee invite the public to participate in the 2015 Statewide Heritage Tree Dedication and the Maynard Drawson Memorial Award ceremony. The free event will be held on April 10, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. at the Oregon Department of Forestry’s (ODF) Salem headquarters at 2600 State St., Building C.
This …

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OTE Heritage Programs 2014 retrospect

While not quite the end of the year, 2014 was a busy one for both the Oregon Historical Marker and Heritage Tree Programs. The year started off in February with a memorial planting on the Oregon Department of Forestry’s grounds to honor Maynard Charles Drawson. In April, tree lovers celebrated the Class of 2014 Heritage Trees in Veneta at the Ellmaker Heritage Grove induction.
Also in April, …

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OTE announces the Maynard C. Drawson Memorial Award

Oregon Travel Experience (OTE) and the Oregon Heritage Tree Program have established a new statewide award in Maynard “The Tree Man” Drawson’s name.
Maynard Charles Drawson (1925 – 2012) is considered the founder of Oregon’s official statewide heritage tree program. Founded in 1995 the program is administered by OTE, and was adopted by the agency’s governing Council.
The annual award will honor individuals (or groups) …

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Barlow Tollgate Road Maple Heritage Tree lives on

At its recent July meeting, OTE’s Oregon Heritage Tree Program Committee members participated in several special actions.
Committee member Doug Grafe, Fire Protection Deputy Chief with the Oregon Department of Forestry, unveiled a labor of love: a memorial tribute bench made from the gnarly wood of a former heritage tree.
In 2011 a pair of Oregon Heritage Trees gracing US Hwy 26 suffered a major …

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